Chris Hemsworth promises a wiser Thor in Avengers: Doomsday

Chris Hemsworth's Thor has been through a lot during his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – losing nearly his entire family, suffering multiple defeats, and surviving arguably the most divisive solo outing in Taika Waititi's Thor: Love and Thunder, which split fans and critics alike. In a recent interview with Brobible, Hemsworth explained that much of that inconsistency came down to how differently each director understood the character.

Some had a clear handle on who they thought the character was, and some didn’t. Even to their own admission — I remember Joss Whedon saying it’s a tricky character to write, especially once he’s acquired that strength. It was really around working with Taika where I was kind of sick of what I’d been doing, and he was like, ‘Yeah, so am I. Let’s explore a different space.’ I hope that brought some unpredictability to the character.

In Avengers: Doomsday, where Thor will come face to face with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and go up against Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), the God of Thunder will be a very different figure. According to Hemsworth, Thor finally feels like he belongs.

In the more recent films since then, I felt like the character had earned his seat at the table. Before that, I felt like the new guy. I remember sitting around on Doomsday with all these new characters, people in their first Avengers film, and thinking, ‘I have a bit of agency here. I should have a bigger voice or opinion as the character‘.

Hemsworth didn't reveal which new Avengers he was referring to.

Owning that a little more, he does feel like one of the elders. He’s 2,000 years old or something, so we tried to play into that more than we had before.

Based on the recent trailer, Thor looks visibly troubled by the looming threat, and Hemsworth himself confirmed that the film leans into the character's weariness:

You reach a point in life where there’s an exhaustion and weariness, and we really leaned into that.

Still, even if Doomsday looks like it could be a final chapter, Hemsworth has previously said he'd be open to a fifth solo Thor film.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18.